Saturday, May 31, 2014

This image from Lacy Sunshine took me back to childhood so quickly! I was a tomboy's tomboy but every once in a while I'd get a little flash of wanting to be an elegant lady (usually while playing dress up) but that never lasted long enough to have any serious impact on my blue jeans and torn high tops (probably stolen borrowed from my older brother.) :-D

I chose to use orange in my color scheme because I'm trying to expand my arena of creativity by using colors which are mostly ignored by me. Orange is one of those which rarely gets used except for Halloween or Thanksgiving cards. The image is colored with ProMarkers, then die cut with a framing die from Spellbinders. I used chalk on the edges to bring out the embossing.

The sentiment is mine, printed with a computer font, and the pearl flourishes were in my stash. I used satin ribbon to tie the bow. I was satisfied with the design at that point, somewhat liking the balance between rough and elegant.

Friday, May 30, 2014

I have to brag a little bit about my youngest grandson whose baseball team made the playoffs this spring! It was a really big deal since it was his first time on a baseball team. I made a card congratulating him and his team. The image is from the "Catching Flies" set at Deedee's Digis, as is the sentiment I put inside. Deedee's has a brand new store location which is now open and you can access it through the blog by clicking on the "Shop" tab at the top of the page.

The image is pre-colored and I printed it onto white CS, then die cut it. I matted it with brown CS after I ran it through my SU "Lattice" embossing folder. I did the same thing with the inside sentiment. The two strips of dp are from Creative Imaginations, their 'Loolah' pad. I matted them with the same brown CS. The ribbon is from my stash and I wrapped it around one of the dp strips.

I added the metal brads for the triangle piece in the sketch and finally put on three very small, dark colored pearls in the bottom corner. The outside sentiment is my own, printed with a computer font.

So, that's it for today. Soon another new challenge will start at Deedee's Digis and it will be featuring the June Digi of the Month set. That set will be sent free to all who entered the previous challenge using the Digi of the Month set for May. If you haven't done that yet, you only have two days left. It will close on Sunday, June 1. You haven't played in any of the progressive challenges yet and don't have the May image? You can still purchase it in the store for only $1.25 and then you'll get the June set as a freebie! Each month that you play along, you'll get the set for the following month as a freebie! During the challenge, the set for that month is sold for $1.25 but then it reverts to the regular price when the challenge closes. Hope to see you jumping in there before the challenge closes. :-D Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A card using my favorite purples and lots of flower embellies. Those of you who follow my blog regularly can fall over from shock right now since it's also a shaped card -- something I make so rarely as to be a complete surprise. :-D The image, called "Penny with Butterflies," was a freebie from the FB page of Stampin' with the Dragon. Isn't it precious?

I forgot to photograph the inside sentiment but it says "Embrace the Dream." I colored the image with my favorite ProMarkers and added velvet glitter to the fairy's wings and the butterflies. I die cut the image, and used a large circle die to cut the card base shape, then shaved off the bottom to keep it from rocking.

The flowers are all from my stash and the little lilac bow is one of those I make myself and then throw in my stash to have them at just the right time.

That's it for me today and unless something changes, I probably won't have a post tomorrow. The schedule is getting really busy and I need to focus some attention on things other than crafting for a bit. I may not get around to visiting all of you right away so be patient with me. I'll be back before you know it. Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

I guess my card yesterday with green hair on the image was just practice for the new challenge theme at Tuesday Throwdown this week, which is "Wild Colored Hair!" Our wonderful sponsor is The Paper Shelter and they provided an image for the team to use. You need to check out the Tuesday Throwdown blog to see all the different inspiration and colors of hair.

My card is for a wonderful friend who's celebrating her 79th birthday on Friday, and, no, she won't see it here before then. I doubt if she even knows I have a blog although she does know about my cards and loves them. What a sweetie. :-D

Here's the inside sentiment.

The image is colored with ProMarkers and glitter gel ink. I used one of my framing dies to cut the image and then used the same die to cut a negative from dark pink CS. I used that to 'frame the frame.' It took a bit of planning because I wanted to have the image framed on an angle instead of vertical but I also wanted to angle the darker pink CS on the card base, which is a lighter pink.

The butterflies are punched and I added pearls to the bodies, plus I added three pearls to the bottom corner. Speaking of corners, I used a punch on all four of them. The bow is made from two separate ribbons, one tied into a triple bow and the other into a double bow and then tied together with a butterfly in the middle.

I hope we're going to see you playing along this week. We had so few entries last week (probably because of the Memorial Day holiday and everyone getting their summer started instead of crafting) that we didn't even have enough people to choose a Top 3! Of course, that makes your chances of winning the sponsor prize that much greater. :-D See you at Tuesday Throwdown. NanaConnie

Monday, May 26, 2014

Two things came together at just the right moment to inspire this card -- a freebie digi from the artbymiran FB page and a sketch I wanted to try. I was also in the mood for a monochromatic card so her hair is green.

Which reminds me of the summer I was about 8 or 9 years old. That was the summer I learned to swim. At the time, my hair was strawberry blond and I spent so much time in the city pool that my hair actually turned green from all the chlorine in the water. When I went back to school, all the kids and even the teacher commented on my green hair. About a month into the school year, our teacher (a lady with a sense of humor) was excusing kids from the classroom to go to the auditorium for an assembly. She was dismissing us a few at a time by saying things like, "Any of you who have turtles on your socks may go." "Anyone with orange eyes may go." Later she would get to real things like blue shirts or brown shoes but she always started with silly things nobody would have. About the third silly thing she said was "Anyone with green hair may go." I got up and left the room while everyone laughed, including my teacher!

I colored the image totally with Copics (boy, did I miss the ultra fine nibs on my Pro-Markers when I was doing the hair!), then die cut it with a die from Spellbinders. I added distress ink to the edges of it. The two papers are from Colorbok and both were scraps lying on my table from another project. One of them is die cut with a new Marianne's die. The flag banner piece is embossed with a SU folder and it was also a scrap on my desk.

I added twine, a flower made from ribbon, and several mulberry paper flowers. I added pearls to all the flowers.

What fun I had making this card. Hope you're all enjoying the Memorial Day Holiday. Let's not forget the reason for the day -- say thanks to a Veteran or to the family of a vet who gave his all for his country. Is your flag flying today? Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A week or so ago, I told you how much I dearly love the bears from QKR Stampede (challenge theme: dies or punches) and today I'm using another one for a Get Well card. I hope this brings a smile to your face.

I tried to stick with the colors, too, but dulled my background pink quite a bit.

I colored the bear with ProMarkers, then die cut the image with a square die and used a corner punch on all 4 corners. The background piece I made myself, using an old piece of plastic netting (like you get with a fruit or vegetable bag) and coloring across it with the chisel tip of the ProMarkers. Aside from the fact that I wanted something close to the background on the CASE card, I really like that effect and will use it again, I'm sure. That piece is also die cut and punched.

I dry embossed the brown CS strip with the "Lattice" folder from SU. The sentiment is my own, printed with a computer font. My only embellishment on this CAS card is the die cut swirl in the lower corner. No ribbon, no twine, no string, no flowers, no gems or pearls -- I think I'm finally getting the hang of CAS!! :-D

Monday, May 12, 2014

I have the honor of being a GDT at Through the Craft Room Door this week, where the challenges are always "Anything Goes." I got to use a digital image drawn by Sandi Huggett, one of my favorite artists. I first got to know Sandi and her work over at The Outlawz. Here's one of her incredible flower images.

I colored the roses with my ProMarkers, then die cut it with one of those wonderful framing dies by Spellbinders. I cut another frame with the die one size larger, using some dusty pink CS, and embossing it. The dp is from Crafts, Etc., the "Sweet Pea" stack. The lovely, sheer, polka-dot ribbon came from Really Reasonable Ribbon and is one of my favorites. I wish I had more of it in my stash. The frames are so decorative and detailed that I decided to limit embellishment to just the ribbon. That way, the focus is on the gorgeous roses!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

I have to admit that my favorite silly bears are the ones from QKR Stampede. They're just so quirky and full of attitude. :-D Today I combined the "Baking" bear with one of the QKR sentiments about a "Beary Godmother" and I think this is such a fun and funny card! Here's the card front.

and the inside...

I colored the image with ProMarkers and die cut it with one of my Spellbinders dies, then distressed it with one of the Ranger inks. The inside sentiment is cut with a die from QuicKutz. The A2 card base is made from colored CS. I used two pieces of scrap brown CS for neutral colored layers (wanting a monochromatic feel to the card), tearing each of them and embossing one. The blue gems are on ribbon and I wrapped them around the card front. The bow is one of the ones I make and stash away until they're needed.

How's your weekend going? I'm having a fantastic time with lots of playing and lots of family. If you seem to be seeing less of me over the summer months it's because I'm taking a leave of absence from one of my DT positions; 2 of my DT terms are ending, and I'm working ahead as best I can on another team. I'll be doing my best to make cards and schedule posts when I'm home and can craft but I may be a bit hit or miss between now and mid-September. Hope you'll continue to visit when you can. In the meantime, Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

It's been a while since I used an image from A Day for Daisies (add a doily or twine) but when I saw this one while scrolling through my collection, I immediately printed it (which is a story in itself!) and turned it into a birthday card. I know I've been doing a lot of those recently but my birthday card stash was down to nil, zero, nada so it's time to make several and get stocked up again.

OK, when I went to print the image, I knew I wanted to print directly to my card base because I am going to enter the first challenge at AAA Cards and their challenge theme calls for only 2 layers, plus glitter and "Happy." Well, only 2 layers means CAS to me (despite the fact that I love to mat everything and have many layers on most of my cards.) Anyway, back to the printing story -- I thought I had the printing all figured out so that the image would print on the card front with a left hand fold for an A2 card. Unfortunately, when the card came out of the printer, I hadn't planned it properly or I forgot which way the printer would print onto the paper. In any case, the only way I could make it work for the sketch was to turn the sketch 1/4 turn and have a top fold, tent card. OK, so I just went with it. Next time, I'll practice on plain copier paper before printing on my good CS. :-D

I colored the flowers and vase with watercolor pencils, and then added Stickles to the vase and flower centers. I die cut the frame and layered it onto the card front, encircling the image (making my second layer.) I added twine in two colors, punching a small hole in the top fold so that I could wrap the twine. That's it. Totally CAS and other than the time messing around with how to print it, it took me less than 20 minutes to make. Of course, I had to wait a good 45 minutes before taking the photo so the Stickles would dry. :-D

What a wonderful Wednesday this has been! And that means only a day or two until the weekend. Remember this Sunday is Mother's Day here in the States. I hope you have your plans all made. Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Most of you are familiar with Tinkerbell, The Tooth Fairy, and/or even the Sugar Plum Fairy but did you know there is a Birthday Fairy? We each have one, kind of like a fairy godmother, but once you reach the age of majority (or sooner if you stop believing in fairies), she leaves you and finds another child with wishes still to be made. At my age, I wish she was still around to wave her magic wand and stop all my future birthdays from piling up those big numbers. Mind, I don't care at all that I'm getting older -- I just don't like having to report the number each year. I'd wish for 100 more numberless birthdays! :-D

So, this fun and lovely image from Rick St. Dennis decorates a birthday card. I forgot to photograph the inside before I mailed the card but together the outside and inside sentiments say, "It's Magic! Poof, you're another year older!"

Colored with ProMarkers and Copics, die cut and embossed, then matted with another die cut as a frame. I added white lace ribbon (recycled from an old dress found at Goodwill - I love haunting thrift shops to see what can be found for recycling onto cards or other projects) to a black rectangle and layered the image piece on top. The sentiment was added at that point and then the entire thing adhered to the white card front. Finally, I added the satin bow and the rhinestones.

Are you enjoying your week? It's already Tuesday and hump day is tomorrow, then it's downhill to the weekend. How did it get to be May already, for Heaven's sake? Every single week rolls by much too fast and I seem to get less and less accomplished. I need some 8 day weeks -- say one every third week? See if you can arrange that, would you? Thanks. Happy Stamping. NanaConnie

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